ESSENTIALWORKS OFLITERATURE
WA L I F C H B E I R
FIVE CLASSICS YOU HAVE HEARD OF
AND A FEW MORE YOU HAVEN'T
I N T R O D U C T I O NHUMANITY HAS IMAGINED MUCH SINCE WRITTEN WORDS
WERE FIRST USED TO CAPTURE AND PRESERVE
EXPERIENCE IN STORY FORM . WHILE MOST OF THESE
WORKS HAVE DISAPPEARED FROM OUR COLLECTIVE
MEMORY , A SMALL FRACTION HAVE REMAINED . EVEN
FEWER HAVE BECOME CLASSICS .
WALIF CHBEIRLITERATURE CLASSICS
B L O O DM E R I D I A N
BLOOD MERIDIAN DOES NOT SHY FROM VIOLENCE .
RATHER , IT EMBRACES VIOLENCE AS A METAPHOR
FOR WHAT MCCARTHY PERCEIVES AS HUMANKIND ’S
INHERENT TENDENCY TOWARD PATHS OF CONFLICT .
IMAGES OF WANTON BLOODSHED OVERFLOW THE
PAGES OF THIS UNAPOLOGETIC BATTLEFIELD OF A
NOVEL , AND IT IS THE SCALE , SCOPE AND PRECISE
DEGREE TO WHICH THIS BLOODSHED CUTS READER ’S
CONCEPTIONS OF HUMANITY TO THE CORE WHICH
MAKES BLOOD MERIDIAN SO MEMORABLE .
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CLASSIC LITERATURE
C O R M A C M C C A R T H Y
T H E C O U N T O FM O N T E C R I S T O
REVENGE MAY BE A BITTER PILL FOR SOME , BUT
IT IS DIFFICULT TO IMAGINE VENGEANCE
TASTING ANYTHING BUT SWEET TO MAIN
CHARACTER EDMOND DANTES , WHO , AFTER
BEING FORCED TO SUFFER UNJUSTLY FOR
YEARS , IS MOVED TO ACT IN SWEEPING ,
FANTASTIC SEQUENCES OF JUSTICE .
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LITERATURE CLASSICS
A L E X A N D R E D U M A S
S I D D H A R T H A
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WALIF CHBEIRLITERATURE CLASSICS
HERMANN HESSE ’S EXPLORES THE INTRICACIES
AND MORAL UNDERPINNINGS OF ONE MAN ’S
PATH TO ENLIGHTENMENT . A COMING-OF-AGE
TALE WITH A SPIRITUAL AURA , THIS STORY
EXPLORES GIFTED ESOTERIC STUDENT
SIDDHARTHA ’S LIFELONG TRANSFORMATION
FROM HOLY MAN TO SINNER TO SAGE .
SIDDHARTHA IS RIPE WITH SUBTLE
OBSERVATIONS ON WHAT DRIVES HUMAN
DESIRE , WHICH PAINT ITS PAGES IN THE SHADE
OF BOTH A PROPHETS ’ PARABLE AND AN
EVERYMAN ’S ASIDE .
H E R M A N H E S S E
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LITERATURE CLASSICS
W H I T E F A N G
J A C K L O N D O N
NOVELS WHICH FEATURE NATURE ’S CRITTERS AS CHARACTERS ARE
NO RARITY , BUT EPIC ADVENTURES TOLD ENTIRELY FROM THE
PERSPECTIVE OF ONE ANIMAL ARE A BIT LESS COMMONPLACE . THIS
SETUP IS EXECUTED WONDERFULLY IN WHITE FANG , WHICH
CHRONICLES A LONE WOLF ’S SEARCH FOR HOME .
1 9 8 4
ORWELL ’S 1984 IS A HAUNTING KLAXON FOR THE
EARS OF THOSE WITH A TENDENCY TO FORGET HOW
GREATLY FREEDOM CAN BE RESTRICTED . MORE
WARNING THAN STORY , 1984 IS AN ALLEGORY FOR
ORWELL ’S POLITICAL AND TECHNOLOGICAL
PARANOIA , AND , IN AN AGE WHICH OFTEN BEARS
UNNERVING RESEMBLANCE TO 1984 ’S HORRID
CIRCUMSTANCE , A NECESSARY REMINDER OF
EXACTLY WHAT WE HAVE TO LOSE .
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CLASSIC LITERATURE
G E O R G E O R W E L L
U N D E R T H ER A D A R W O R K S
NOT EVERY GREAT NOVEL GETS THE ATTENTION THAT
AUTHORS LIKE ORWELL , VONNEGUT , TWAIN OR
HEMMINGWAY . DESPITE THEIR LACK OF NOTORIETY , THESE
WORKS ARE HIGHLY DESERVING OF A READ .
WALIF CHBEIRLITERATURE CLASSICS
T H E M O N K
LEWIS WROTE HIS CROWNING LITERARY
ACHIEVEMENT WHEN HE WAS ONLY 19 YEARS OLD .
ITS REMARKABLY COMPLEX STORY DEPICTS A GOD-
FEARING MONK ’S DESCENT INTO TOTAL , SATAN-
INDUCED PSYCHOPATHY AND WON LEWIS CENTER
STAGE UNDER LONDON ’S LITERARY SPOTLIGHT . THE
NOVEL WAS EQUALLY PRAISED AND REVILED , WITH
CRITICS CELEBRATING LEWIS ’S INGENUITY IN
CHARACTER CREATION AND CONDEMNING THE
STORY ’S MORAL BANKRUPTCY .
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CLASSIC LITERATURE
M A T T H E W L E W I S
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LITERATURE CLASSICS
C R A N F O R D
E L I Z A B E T H G A S K E L L
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED AS A SERIES OF SATIRICAL INSTALLMENTS ,
CRANFORD EXAMINES THE CHANGING COUNTRYSIDE CUSTOMS OF AN
ENGLAND ON THE BRINK OF INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION . THIS WORK IS
PARTICULARLY NOTABLE FOR ITS UNIQUE PRESENTATION OF GENDER
DYNAMICS DURING A TIME WHEN WOMEN WERE STILL LARGELY
VIEWED AS SUBSERVIENT TO MEN .
Z E N O ' S
C O N S C I O U S
ZENO COSINI IS PERHAPS THE MOST NEUROTIC MAN
TO EVER THINK A THOUGHT . WRITTEN IN THE STYLE
OF A PSYCHIATRIST-PRESCRIBED DIARY , ZENO ’S
CONSCIENCE AMUSINGLY REFLECTS AND AMPLIFIES
HIS MENTAL ACROBATICS AS ZENO ATTEMPTS TO
NAVIGATE THE SIMPLE COMPLEXITIES OF EVERYDAY
LIFE .
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CLASSIC LITERATURE
I T A L O S V E V O